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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best debut in recent memory, February 2, 2003
This review is from: The Fallen (Paperback)
I have to admit that when I picked up Dale Bailey's The Fallen, I was not expecting much. After all, the book is very thin and it comes from a first time author. There are no reviews or quotes on the book imploring its greatness. But from the very first page, I was gripped by the story and by the author's beautiful style. Not only is The Fallen a great horror story, it is also a very literary one at that. Henry Sleep returns to his hometown of Sauls Run when he gets the news that his father has just passed away. It is in that town that Henry's old flame, Emily, still resides and where his once-friend Perry is now holding the reins of the family business. Only, Henry doesn't believe that his father did commit suicide. And his suspicions are confirmed when strange things begins happening in Sauls Run. Saying anymore about the plot would be ruining a very original and very enthralling story. I will only say that you will be hooked from the very first page and that you will not want to see the book end. It's hard to believe that this is Bailey's first book. The writing resembles that of someone who has been doing it for decades. His prose is beautifully descriptive and even poetic at times, which is something that you rarely find in a horror novel. And yet, The Fallen offers fully fleshed characters that you will care about and love. Even the so-called 'bad guys' will evoke some sympathy from you. My only reproach is that the book was too short. I wanted more. I would have taken a lot more. Then again, the pacing is just perfect in The Fallen. There is never a dull moment, but you will get everything you need to know about the characters and their past, everything you'll need to enjoy this perfectly crafted story. The Fallen is one of those rare gems that takes you my complete surprise. I can't wait to read another book by Dale Bailey. If his next one is half as good as The Fallen was, then we'll be in for yet another great treat!
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13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic First! Truckdrivers LOVE IT!, February 19, 2003
This review is from: The Fallen (Paperback)
It takes a bunch to impress this old country boy, but Dale Bailey has done it. Over the years, working in a truckstop and driving eighteen wheelers, you read a bunch of horror and SF books that all read and sound the same. Well, not the Fallen. I was blown away by how well-written this book is! Every chapter played on my mind's eye like them midnight flicks at the all-nite drive-in here in Texas. Full of dread, wonder, and suspense, Bailey's book puts alot of these new fangled spooky writers (and some of the older ones too--you listening, Dean Koontz?) plumb to shame. I hope he does a sequel. Heck, make it a series. These characters are made for a more drawn out story they are so well developed. And the mystery involved is so deep and profound that you'll be thinking about it for days after you finish it wondering if you really saw what you thought you saw. It reminds me of HP Lovecraft where the hero only gets a glimpse of the monster, but it is enough to send his hair white. Bailey does this with the Fallen. A great first book and I cannot wait to get in something else by him!
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Fallen Soars, November 11, 2002
This review is from: The Fallen (Paperback)
Every once in a while there comes a novel that incorporates the best of several genres, that crosses and blends and makes startlingly new. The Fallen is one of those rare treats, a murder mystery, a contemporary fantasy, a meditation on religion. The cherry on top: the book is beautifully written, a musical tumbling of words. Fans of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction already know Dale Bailey, author of such stories as the Nebula-nominated "The Resurrection Man's Legacy," Touched," "The Anencephalic Fields," and "Death and Suffrage," In his first novel, Bailey returns to his beloved West Virginia Appalachia, the hardscrabble lives of miners, and makes it as heart-breaking as Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha, as gritty as King's Castle Rock. When his father supposedly commits suicide, Henry Sleep is called back to his hometown, the sleepy mining hamlet of Sauls Run. Upon return, Sleep discovers secrets by the dozen: murder, intrigue, and something utterly fantastic. Henry, his ex-girlfriend, and a cancer-riddled newspaper reporter unite against the forces that hold Sauls Run, venturing deep into the Appalachian mines. What they discover is a wonder that could quite possibly change their world. This is an amazing first novel, one that introduces a marvelous new writer, one who simultaneously handles words like silver and forges a wonderful story. Highly recommended.
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